a passenger on a flight from national to denver is being questioned by the fbi tonight. air marshals saw smoke coming from the bathroom and took him

down. that plane ended safely in denver. good evening, i'm jim vance. doreen is off tonight. the united airlines flight took off this evening. authorities say air marshals smelled smoke, saw guys coming out of the bathroom and subdued him. 4-16s were scrambled to escort the plane into denver. nbc news confirmed there was no bomb nor was there any other explosive on that passenger or on the plane. craig melvin is at national airport now with more on this. >> reporter: you said it there, no shoe bomb, no explosives. the man may have been smoking in the bathroom aboard that flight. what we do know it's been a hairy situation as investigators try to find out exactly what happened. united 663 left reagan national this afternoon, 157 passengers onboard. six crew members. 20 to 30 minutes before the

flight was set to land, someone smelled smoke. a flight attendant or an air marshal. an air marshal noticed good night emerging from the lavor try. they questioned the guy they were not sure whether he said he was trying to light his shoe on fire or put a cigarette out with his issue. f-16s were scrambled and escorted that boeing jet to the airport there where it sat in a remote location for some time. we learned the man's name is muhammad delqu almadi from qatar. all of this follows the infamous christmas day attempt by the nigerian man who tried to blow up a plane using his underwear. it does not appear any of the

flights at this particular airport have been affected by what happened in denver. live for now at reagan national, craig melvin, news4. back to you. joining us on the phone is roger cresse, nbc news terrorist analyst. i assume all the appropriate steps were taken there tonight? >> reporter: jim, that's right. i think what you have here is a case of a very young diplomat from qatar. he did something very stupid. as a result of that, he caused not only a security incident but probably international diplomatic incident between u.s. and qatar officials. i think the key point now is he will undergo extensive questioning via local law enforcement and take apart his shoe and look at everything else he was traveling with. was it a giant misunderstanding by him making a stupid move

trying to light a cigarette on a plane? >> so far we can assume that the security measures at the airport as it regards detecting explosives in shoes and things like that, all those things are working as far as we know? >> that's right. even a diplomat has to go through security screening. if you're flying on u.s. commercial flights. woe have to take his shoes off, all his bags would be screened as anything else he was bringing with him. there was no potential threat because he was a diplomat. again, i think security processes worked well here. it's also a reminder federal air marshals are very on our domestic flights. law enforcement will take a review as to what actually happened. >> roger cresse with nbc news, terror analyst with the network. thanks, we appreciate it. two students from the st. alben's school in the district are facing criminal charges because of an incident involving a bb gun on the campus. police got a 911 call after 8:00 this morning.

somebody told them they had seen someone holding a gun in a car near st. alben's the school was locked down. dozens of officers and gun-sniffing dogs searched the grounds of the national cathedral where the school is located. >> a subsequent canvas resulted in the discovery of what was believed to be a long gun in the back of a vehicle on the campus. >> that long gun turned out to be a bb gun. an 18-year-old student and another student were arrested. they're facing charges of illegal possession and illegal transportation of a bb gun. d.c. fire and ems were so overloaded with calls yesterday, a shooting victim never got an ambulance. he had to ride to the hospital on a fire truck. emergency crews are now trying to make sure that doesn't happen again. jackie benson has our report. >> reporter: there are more ambulances on d.c. streets after an unexpected shortage. on tuesday afternoon a gun shot

victim left this shooting scene not in an ambulance, but on a fire truck. it happened about 4:00 p.m. in the 4300 blosk third street southeast. officials say the fire engine with a paramedic onboard arrived in about three minutes. >> ems unit was coming from a great distance. the decision was made to transport him on the fire engine. although that's not extraordinary, it is a bit unusual. >> reporter: where were the more than 3 dozen d.c. ambulances on duty at any given time? officials say the unexpected record heat and crowds of visitors who flocked to see the famous cherry blossom trees draw calls way above normal levels. >> yesterday between 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m., our busiest time, we had over 300 calls for service. typically in a 24-hour period we'll handle about 425, maybe 450 calls on a busy day. >> reporter: not a factor,

officials say, are new procedures put in place after an ambulance crew failed to take 2-year-old stephanie stephens to a hospital in february. she died of pneumonia hours later. a criminal review of an emergency medical technician's actions is under way. d.c. council member phil mendelson who shares the council's public safety committee says he had some questions about what happened tuesday. jackie benson, news 4. turning to weather now and some of us wouldn't mind getting used to the kind of weather we've been having the last few days. tom, that's not going to happen, is it? >> it's been around the last few days. it's highly unusual. we did it again. we hit 90 degrees in washington this afternoon. it's not cooled that much with a deck of clouds passing over. it's 80 in washington. prince george's, arlington county, upper 70s near 80 degrees. we have this cloud cover beginning to move off to the east. as it does, it should cool down tonight.

it looks like a cooler day tomorrow. a cold front coming in could trigger strong storms tomorrow afternoon. that to be followed by a friday chill that likely will linger into the weekend. i'll have details on that. we'll take a look at the next week in a few minutes. >> thanks, tom. some newly-released e-mails between executives at toyota reveal serious concerns about how that company was dealing with safety problems. an internal e-mail from a toyota pr executive urges colleagues to, in his words, come clean. about accelerator problems in the vehicles. he did so five days before the company announced a massive recall back in january. that e-mail was obtained by the associated press. irv miller is the executive who sent it and he since retired. in the note he said he hoped toyota would not be put out of business while finding a solution to the accelerator problems. an airline merger could be in the works. yet another one.

associated press is reporting that united airlines and us airways are in talks about combining their operations. if that merger happens, the company would become the second biggest airline behind delta which merged with northwest back in 2008. the associated press reports the combined company would be able to cut its costs and it could compete better with delta. coming up tonight, the governor of virginia adding new language to a proclamation about confederate history month after a national outcry. big fire blew out the windows of a highrise in boston. nike out with a new commercial. the orlando magic getting a little bit tricky against the wizards tonight. baseball season is in full swing. nationals trying to crack into the win column.

the governor of virginia is making changes to a controversial proclamation declaring april confederate history month in virginia. bob mcdonnell issued that proclamation, he said to promote tourism in the state in advance of the 150th anniversary of the start of the civil war. virginia was the capital of the confederacy then and a major civil war battleground. but the declaration left out anti-slavery. it agrees it is important to for all virginians to understand the institution of slavery led to this war and was an evil and inhumane practice. d.c. public school teachers could get a dramatic pay raise and tougher work standards if a new union contract is approved. the tentative contract comes

after more than two years of sometimes bitter negotiations. it would raise the average teacher's salary by 20% over five years to $81,000. teachers could also earn bonuses for high student achievement. school chancellor michelle reid would retain the power to dismiss teachers based on their performance. members of the teachers' union and d.c. council will have to approve before it can go into effect. coming up, a live report from west virginia and the site of that mine explosion there. there us new evidence about the long-term damage caused by toxic dust.

air samples from inside the mine where 25 miners were killed in west virginia may no longer be explosive. that word tonight from the

federal mine safety official there. if the test samples from higher up in the mine confirm those from the bottom of the mine, and those results are confirmed, rescuers might soon be able to begin their search for the four miners who are still missing. steve handelsman is in raleigh county, west virginia, with more on this. steve? >> reporter: thanks. they've got to get it right or more people could get hurt here in west virginia. folks, we're getting closer. that's what the mine safety coordinator said here tonight. he is about, he says, about to decide whether to send emergency teams back in. night three, as darkness fell, rescue teams were called to the mine. >> we are looking at probably six teams going underground. two teams advancing, two at the fresh air base and two teams as backup. >> reporter: but the teams drilling shafts into the mine are pulling out air that's

marginal. still some methane and carbon monoxide. rescue teams can go only after more testing confirms the atmosphere in the mine won't explode. everyone still hopes the four missing miners made their way to survival chambers. they had good air inside for the weekend. cameras could confirm the miners took refuge, but six teams would be better. >> our preference would be rescue teams to go in and touch those chambers. >> reporter: miner stanley stewart got out safely monday, but spiritually he is still inside with his missing friends. >> my heart feels like it weighs a ton. >> reporter: stewart says the mine ran safely. some co-workers disagree. >> coal first, safety last. >> reporter: the big branch mine has a history of safety violation. officials promise a full investigation after they do all they can for possible survivors

of the mine's disaster that's killed at least 25 men. >> steve handelsman reporting from west virginia. get our weather report, tom. things are going to change when? >> big time tomorrow. our summer party is coming to an end. it feels like midening with war. this is the live view from our sky watcher camera. there is reagan national airport right now as we take a look at the sky watcher in time lapse. right now the temperature is down to 80 degrees. the high was 90. the low 63. this is the first back-to-back april 90 degree days. we hit 90 yesterday going back to way back since 2002. it's been eight years since we had days like this. look at the high we did have today. we k reach near 90 in prince george's county. arlington, fairfax and montgomery counties hit 90 degrees. 90 degrees around shenandoah

valley. temperatures there in the upper 70s to near 80 degrees. it hit 60s to near 70s out in the shenandoah valley. the pollen count is extremely high, nearly tripling from the day before. 4,000 grade per cubic meter. that is extremely high. it's mostly oak tree pollen. we have not seen pollen counts this high since early april in 12 years. view from space showing a few clouds drifting over right now. cloud cover acting like a blanket holding in the afternoon warmth. the big change is beginning to approach us with showers. a cold front will move our way here by later on this afternoon. the warmth will be exiting tonight. we'll have that front coming through late afternoon tomorrow into the early evening hours. that's when we may get passing showers and thunder showers. mostly cloudy and cool down into the 60s. run rises at 6:42. thursday thickening clouds and

by sunset we could have showers and storms earlier. looks like that will happen farther to our west. farther east thursday night. thunder and lightning thursday night. maybe a lingering shower friday morning east of washington. friday afternoon, much cooler. a blustery wind near 50 in the morning friday. friday afternoon highs only near 60. quite an incredible change. a 50 degree drop of where we were this afternoon. a bit milder on sunday. should be sunny up near 70. as we get into next week more seasonable weather and reasonable. morning lows in the 40s. should be partly cloudy monday, tuesday and wednesday. this time of year the average is 65. >> thanks, tom. coming up tonight, a if you fast food sandwich has chicken breast instead of bread. in sports, nats, phillies, again. if we don't know how big our community is,

how do we know how big our hospitals need to be? the census helps us know exactly what we need, so everyone can get their fair share of funding. we can't move forward until you mail it back. 2010 census.

i want to find out what your thinking was. i want to find out what your feelings are. and did you learn anything? >> nike has a new ad out featuring tiger woods. it's the first new ad to air since his sex scandal prompted sponsors to drop tiger. it's a 30-second spot that features the voice of tiger woods' father. tiger woods himself does not speak in the ad. nats played some baseball tonight. didn't play very well. played the world champions. still, they didn't play very well. >> here is the thing.

they are such a tough division. every time they play a division rival, it's going to be a tough go of it. last season the nationals started off with a 1-10 record. we are not there yet. after two games in the nationals, still trying to find their groove. a second straight loss to the phillies. another less than stellar effort for a shorting pitcher. jason marquis gave up six earned runs in his nationals debut. top of the fourth, game tied 2-2. facing coal hamils with two aboard. phillies take a 3-2 lead. jim reggelman. roping one into the left field corner. nyjer morgan cruises home to tie

for 3-3. in the fifth. ryan howard. he just absolutely punish is this ball. he is angry at this thing. a moon shot to right off marquis. that's a two-run homer for howard. phillies win it 8-4. nationals and the phillies tomorrow. >> he is competing, sinking the ball and threw very good pitches. he just hadn't strung enough pitches together yet that i think what we are going to see is just not there yet. >> let's go to florida. o's on the road in tampa. o's up 2-1. evan longoria, two on, two out facing jeremy guthrie. two runs come around to score. longoria finished 2-4. rays beat the o's 4-3.

it was business as usual for the wizards. another loss in orlando. this one 27 points to the magic. 55th win of the season. wizards 54th loss of the year. four games left in the most miserable season since, i don't know, last year? vince carter all smiles. first quarter, carter getting the ball. let me give it inside to d-12. howard, 17 points, 10 rebounds in the game. wizards more active on defense. wizards get the turnover. sean livingston to mike miller gets the layup to go. miller scored 16 points for the wizards. it was all magic in the second half. final seconds. check out jason williams with the ball. pulls up. hits the three-pointer. watch him very closely here on

the inbounds. gets it again. looking like reggie miller, remember? williams had eight points in the game, scored six right there in three seconds. orlando wins big 121-94. >> oh, my. >> that wasn't good. >> thanks. coming up, firefighters in boston save people.

it's definitely expensive having a growing family. and it's something that you think about. we try to be conscious of that and plan out our meals so that we can feed everyone on a budget. at giant, we know saving money is important. every time you shop with your card, you can enjoy thousands of real deal savings and weekly specials. like top round london broil, $1.99 a pound, and breyers ice cream, $1.99 each. this week only. it makes me feel good because we're saving money. and that works for me. only with your giant card. four people were rescued from a nine-alarm fire at a

highrise in boston today. that fire was so intense it blew out the windows in that building. one person was plucked from the window on the seventh floor. another survived by climbing up to the roof and waiting there for help. one of the firefighters was among the five people injured. officials say a lack of sprinklers and narrow staircases made their jobs really difficult. many of the firefighters and rescuers on the front lines after 9/11 attacks will likely have permanent lung damage, according to a new study on the help of first responders to ground zero. doctors say those who have respiratory problems from breathing in that toxic dust will need monitoring and treatment in order to see improvements in their condition. >> it was a fire. it was burning jet fuel. it was pull varrized of two of the largest buildings on the planet.

this created something new. it created dramatic decline in lung function that persisted. >> law makers are working on a 9/11 health and compensation bill for affected firefighters and hope to get it passed this summer.

there is a new fast food sandwich coming that is a

nightmare for nutritionists, but is developing a cult following before it even hits the market. on monday kfc is going to sell what they call the double down. that's a chicken sandwich that has no bread. instead, bacon, cheese and cheese sauce are stuffed between two fried chicken filets. that packs 540 calories and 60% of the daily salt allowance. kfc hopes the double down will be a big draw for college students. yeah. who may not live to get their first job.